Today we woke up to sunshine and blue sky – just knew it was going to be a splendid day. The planned walking route for today was promising and … we were meeting up with our friends – the ‘Silvers.’

We met up in Dibden Purlieu – Mel kindly drove us to Beaulieu from where Brett, Steve and I trotted off on our ten mile walk. Mel had a day of shopping and packing planned as they’re flying out to Lanzarote tomorrow. We were doing our ‘care in the community’ by taking Brett off her hands!!!

From the off it was SO picturesque. Brett took us to see the donkeys on the Beaulieu roadside – my goodness, what a place.

We followed the Solent Way as again there is no official coast path here – the route was through countryside, chocolate box villages, country roads, some muddy paths with river and quayside views. Typical of the Hampshire coastline there was the ever presence of sailing clubs and marinas and the clanging sound of the sails. Brett enjoyed sharing his local knowledge in terms of historical interest and we soaked it up. We passed through Buckler’s Hard where we learnt all about its shipbuilding past and the remains of St.Leonard’s barn, said to be the largest barn built in medieval England, built by the Cistercian monks and confiscated by good ol’ Henry VIII.

A good few hours of walking went by in a flash because we literally walked and talked. It was so lovely to have a new member on our rambling gang because there was just so much to catch up on and to discover about each other too. Our conversations ranged from our children (of course!), our families, our childhoods, our ancestry, our travelling adventures … and Wycombe Wanderers got a look in too. That’s how Steve and Brett met.

Loved everything about the path today, including the houses of course, the views, the sunshine and most definitely the company. Brett informed us about the ‘Big 4’ to spot in the New Forest and we achieved it today – ponies, cows, donkeys and deer – it was just like being on safari!!

So, without stopping for breath (or lunch) we found ourselves walking into the historic town of Lymington. We wandered down its pretty high street – I longingly glanced in elegant shop windows, missing out on so many retail opportunities – and finished our walk in the Quay area. We tucked into our sandwiches while we waited for Mel to come and pick us up.

We drove back to Brett and Mel’s gorgeous house in Milton and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon sun on their fabulous patio where Mel spoiled us with tea and fresh cream cakes. Now, THIS is my style of coastal walking!

It really was a great day, and honestly the most pleasurable walk we have done on this section – would highly recommend. Definitely gets a SILVER star in my books.